You packed everyone’s bags for them, got them to the airport on time, herded them to the gate and seated them on the plane. The holiday starts here…In an upright chair under a steady stream of skin-drying air-conditioning. Travel doesn’t sound so relaxing now, does it?
However, coming out the other end of the long-haul looking fresh-faced and not like you’ve sat next to a crying baby for 26 hours isn’t just a secret reserved for the stars. Just a few simple products (many of which you may already own) packed in your carry-on cosmetics bag will protect your skin from taking a turn for the worst before touching down.
Here we show you how to pack your cosmetics bag for a long-hail flight with skin hydrating products that will add a little relaxation and luxury to the long-haul.
Chrissy Teigen has her in-flight skincare regime sorted.
What to pack in your carry-on cosmetic bag (in order of when to use them):
Fact: flying wreaks havoc on your skin. Little natural light and a stream of air conditioning pummeling your face for hours will turn your skin to paper. Taking a little time to pack these products in your carry-on will have you looking and feeling ready to enjoy the holiday ahead.
Start with a bare face. If you’ve boarded the flight wearing make-up, remove it as soon as the pilot switches off the fasten seat belts sign. For this step, it’s important to use something gentle and non-drying like Simple’s Kind To Skin Micellar Cleansing Wipes.
Face wipes forumlated using micellar water are less drying on the skin. Simple Kind To Skin Micellar Cleansing Wipes $7.99, from Priceline.
Now it’s time to hydrate and protect. While many beauty editor’s will suggest a sheet mask for your in-flight regime, let’s face it, unless you’re Chrissy Teigen and flying in the privacy of a first-class cocoon bed-chair, it’s unlikely you’ll feel comfortable resting a filmy sheet over your face for the duration of your flight.
A hydrating face mask or balm, on the other hand, is a little more discrete and just as nourishing. SK-11 have recently released Overnight Miracle Mask a super hydrating sleep-in mask that comes in handy individual-use pods – perfect for slotting into your cosmetics bag. What’s more, the mask’s formula is clear, meaning your fellow passengers will be clueless to the beauty spa happening in seat 34K.
Apply your mask and keep it on for as long as you like. The balmy layer will hydrate the skin below, while creating a protective layer on the skin preventing any nasties from getting in.
Forget a sheet-mask, a more discrete cream face mask or face balm can be worn for the entire flight without embarrassment. SK-11 Overnight Miracle Mask, $154/pack of 6, from David Jones.
Just as the skin needs protection from the dry cabin air, the lips need extra care too. Frequently applying a good lip balm, such as Go-To’s Lips!, will help stave off chapped lips. However, for something even more nourishing, try applying a lip mask just before you settle in for a movie marathon or a sleep. Bite Beauty’s Agave Lip Mask is one of the best on the market.
A lip balm is always handy on a flight, but a lip mask will work harder to nourish and moisturise lips while you watch movies or snooze. Bite Beauty’s Agave Lip Mask, $38, from Sephora.
Now that you’re lathered in moisture and ready to marinate until you land (or your next meal), slip on a silk eye-mask for sleeping. Silk is soft on the delicate skin around the eye, plus it’s hypo-allergenic meaning it helps to regulate your body temperature, relaxing the skin and reducing puffiness around the eye area. This luxurious sleeping mask from David Jones won’t break the bank.
A silk eye mask blocks out light and reduces puffiness around the eyes. Silk Eye Mask, $29.95, from David Jones.
You’ve been awoken from your beauty slumber by a kind hostess who tells you there is an hour til landing and passes you a damp washer. Gently pat your face with the cloth to remove any excess product from your skin. Now it’s time to give you complexion a real boost with a zesty face mist like Pixi’s Vitamin Wakeup Mist to give the appearance of a well-rested complexion.
After a generous spitz of mist all over the face and neck, apply your favourite daily moisturiser. If your go-to cream isn’t available in travel-size, decant it into one of Manicare’s clear travel bottles.
Balancing, hydrating, refreshing, awakening – a face mist’s list of benefits is impressive. Pixi Vitamin Wakeup Mist, $30, from Adore Beauty.
If you’re a hit-the-ground-running kind of traveller – you’ll be wanting your complexion family-photo-ready. Swap your everyday foundation for a tinted moisturiser, BB or CC cream with a high SPF. IT Cosmetics’ Your Skin But Better CC Cream is SPF 50+, highly pigmented (so the coverage is good) and it’s moisturising.
A foundation, CC or BB cream with a decent SPF coverage (preferably SPF50+) is a skin saviour on holidays. IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC Cream SPF50+, $61, from Sephora.
Travel-minis, what joy they bring! A mini mascara, like Clinique’s Mini High Impact Mascara will most likely last you the entirety of your trip (unless you’re going away for a enviously long summer sojourn, you lucky duck!). So pack one in your on-flight cosmetics bag to apply just before landing. Mascara not only defines the eye, but makes the eye look wider (if you apply to top lashes only) and more awake. Tick!
A travel-mini mascara will last you the length of your trip. Clinique Mini High Impact Mascara, $18, from Mecca.
For the final touches before touch-down, be sure to pack a tinted lip balm. Often over-looked, a nourishing lip balm with a hint of colour, like Herbivore Botanicals’ Coco Rose Lip Tint, is a fabulous three-for-one product as it moisturisers the lip while giving your complexion a hit of colour and a little balm can be added to the cheeks in place of blush.
A tinted lip balm is a magic three-for-one product that is a must-have for travel. Herbivore Botanicals Coco Rose Lip Tint in Coral, $34, from Sephora.
Want more skincare tips? Read these next…
The best skin serums under $50
5 of the best anti-aging lip shapes
